‘Unsustainable’ 370-home new village on the outskirts of Swindon gets go ahead

‘Unsustainable’ new village to east of Swindon gets go ahead

A new ‘village’ on the eastern edges of Swindon has been given the go-ahead by planners.

But residents and two parish councils say it doesn’t have the necessary roads and schools to prevent it putting pressure of existing areas.

A plan to build 370 homes on Redlands Farm, off the Wanborough Road east of Covingham, where a skydiving business now operates has been approved in outline.

This means the developer Barberry Swindon can go ahead with plans, though details such as design and layout are still subject to approval.

The scheme is part of the New Eastern Villages expansion of Swindon into countryside east of the A419.

But there are concerns that building so many houses without upgrading access, and building new schools for the children of residents will cause problems for other communities.

Graham Finch lives nearby and said that the development would increase ‘rat running’ through both Wanborough and through other new villages constructed to the north of it.

And the said the Redlands development was outside the allocated space for development and should remain a “rural buffer” deigned to protect the rural character of Wanborough”

Liddington Parish Council agreed, saying in a statement: “The development is premature and not sustainable in its current form due to its isolation and the construction timescales being well ahead of an adequate infrastructure and services planned for later phases of the NEV development.

“The number of dwellings being proposed is almost 10 times those quoted in the Swindon Local Plan, why and how is this allowed to happen?”

Covingham Parish Council expressed similar concerns, adding: “Land is being allocated for a school to be built, but with no guarantee that it would be built, only after the 10th occupation.

“As Wanborough Primary is already full and Covingham School currently has no spaces in reception and Year 1, this will put extreme pressure on both.

“As the only means of accessing any of the facilities provided in Covingham and beyond is via a road with no footpaths, this will be dangerous and extremely unsafe.”

Barberry director Martyn Cartwright said: “This was all dealt with is documents submitted as part of the application.

“Much of this infrastructure will be put in as part of the wider New Eastern Villages programme. But you have to start somewhere. You can’t put in all the infrastructure with nobody there to use it.” Barberry is contributing £8m to the project.

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